Gerard López

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Gerard
Gerard López Segú.jpg
Personal information
Full name Gerard López Segú
Date of birth (1979-03-12) 12 March 1979 (age 34)
Place of birth Granollers, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1993–1996 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1996–1997 Barcelona B 32 (10)
1997–2000 Valencia 45 (4)
1998–1999 → Alavés (loan) 29 (7)
2000–2005 Barcelona 91 (5)
2005–2007 Monaco 13 (1)
2007–2008 Recreativo 18 (0)
2009–2011 Girona 31 (4)
Total 259 (31)
National team
1996–1998 Spain U18 9 (5)
1997 Spain U20 4 (0)
1998–2000 Spain U21 10 (5)
2000 Spain 6 (2)
1998–2008 Catalonia 6 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is López and the second or maternal family name is Segú.

Gerard López Segú (born 12 March 1979), usually known as just Gerard, is a Spanish retired footballer. An all-around midfielder, he was known for precision passes and ball control skills. During his career he played most notably for Barcelona and Valencia, excelling at the latter and helping it reach one Champions League final.

Gerard participated with Spain at Euro 2000.

Contents

Club career [edit]

Barcelona / Valencia [edit]

Born in Granollers, Barcelona, Catalonia, Gerard began his career in the FC Barcelona youth system and, in 1996–97, made his professional debut with its B team. As a 17-year old he was signed by Valencia CF, making his La Liga debut on 31 August 1997 in a 1–2 away loss against RCD Mallorca (90 minutes played); for 1998–99 he was loaned to Deportivo Alavés, which had returned to the top flight after a four-decade absence.

After a breakout season with the Basque side, scoring seven goals, Gerard returned to Valencia, helping the Che reach the UEFA Champions League final. During this time he came to be regarded as one of the top players in Spain and, after receiving interest from several top clubs in Europe, including Inter Milan, A.C. Milan and Manchester United, he decided to join his former club Barcelona in July 2000, in a deal worth €22 million (£15 million).

Gerard would go on to appear regularly for the team during his five-year second spell, although never an undisputed starter. Injuries also began to curtail his career.[1][2][3]

Monaco / Retirement [edit]

After leaving Barça with the 2004–05 national championship, Gerard moved abroad, playing two unassuming seasons with France's AS Monaco FC[4](also being severely injured[5]) and returning to Spain for 2007–08 with top-divisioner Recreativo de Huelva.

After rejecting some moves, notably to PAOK FC, he trained for a few months with lowly EC Granollers, in Preferent Territorial de Catalunya.[6] In mid-February 2009 Gerard moved back to Catalonia, joining Girona FC until the end of the second division campaign;[7] shortly after arriving, he got injured again, but managed to net four times in the league in only six games.

International career [edit]

After a spectacular 1999–00 season with Valencia, on both fronts, Gerard received his first cap for Spain on 3 June 2000, in a 1–1 friendly with Sweden in Gothenburg. He went on to play in a further five internationals, being selected for UEFA Euro 2000.[8]

International goals [edit]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 September 2000 Koševo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–1 1–2 2002 World Cup qualification
2. 7 October 2000 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain  Israel 1–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualification

Honours [edit]

Valencia
Barcelona

Personal [edit]

Gerard's older brothers, Sergi and Julià López Segú (aka Juli, born 1969), were also footballers, and defenders. The former, who represented Barcelona, Mallorca and Real Zaragoza, committed suicide at 39.[9]

The latter played almost exclusively for Barça B whilst it was in the second division, also having a brief first division spell (13 matches) with Real Valladolid, in 1993–94.[10][11]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Season over for Gerard; UEFA.com, 15 March 2002
  2. ^ Gerard thwarted by injury; UEFA.com, 13 January 2003
  3. ^ Gerard goes under the knife; UEFA.com, 27 November 2004
  4. ^ Monaco make double swoop; UEFA.com, 1 June 2005
  5. ^ Gerard ruled out for six months; UEFA.com, 7 November 2005
  6. ^ Gerard se entrena con el Granollers (Gerard trains with Granollers); El Mundo Deportivo, 15 November 2008 (Spanish)
  7. ^ Gerard López to play with Girona FC (Catalan)
  8. ^ Spanish squad unveiled; BBC Sport, 28 May 2000
  9. ^ Fallece Sergi López, ex futbolista y hermano de Gerard, arrollado por un tren (Sergi López, ex-footballer and brother of Gerard, dies, run over by train); 20 Minutos, 4 November 2006 (Spanish)
  10. ^ Juli at BDFutbol
  11. ^ Barça brothers; Barcelona's official website, 29 October 2009

External links [edit]

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